You Were Me, Too
by labyrinthofsuffering11
Summary: AU's in different time period, situations, whatever. All Nine/Rose. Some fluffy, some angst.
1. Chapter 1

AN: *flinches* Sorry, I know I'm bad! I have like three other stories that I should be working on right now, but I couldn't get this out of my head.

Hallelujah- Leonard Cohen

_"I've heard there was a sacred chord_  
_That David played_  
_And it pleased the Lord, _  
_But you don't really care for music, do ya?"_

Balls were devastatingly dreary to John Smith. There was too much hoity toity politics, too stuffy of clothes, too many people to question his every move. He hated being at them, he hated getting a single invitation in the mail. But, because of his father's status, he had to attend every single one of them. Never mind the fact that he was old enough to have his own children by now, it was still expected of him to do his father's will. He wasn't like his brother.

Know only as "the Master" in public, his younger brother was charismatic and charming to every single person he met. He could have an entire room of strangers eating out of the palm of his hands in seconds. He was so acclaimed, in fact, that it was rumored that when King Tyler stepped down from the throne, his brother would take his place. All he had to do was marry the king's daughter, whatever her name was.

"Excuse me," came a voice from beside John. He turned slowly to see who the disturbance was.

"Yes?" he asked, before the words became lodged in his throat. It was a woman, no more than twenty, golden blonde hair cascading down her shoulders in loose ringlets. She was looking kindly at him.

"Would you like to dance?" she asked him, and for some reason, he couldn't say no. He let himself be pulled onto the floor. He let her put her hand in his, and he put his hand around her waist.

_"It goes like this,_  
_The fourth, the fifth,_  
_The minor fall and the major lift,_  
_The baffled king composing Hallelujah."_

He could not tell how much time passed when he was staring into her eyes.

"You will find your feet at the end of your legs," the woman teased, tongue sticking out between her teeth. He had never seen anyone do that before in his life, and it instantly made John like her more.

He slowly started leading her around the floor in circles, captivated by her gaze, and wondering why she chose to dance with him.

He saw his brother walking towards them, and with a sense of dread, he thought he knew her name without asking it.

"What's your name?" he asked her, afraid the answer would be what he feared.

"Rose, Rose Tyler." She beamed up at him, and his eyes widened. He couldn't let his brother steal this exquisite woman away from him, he couldn't.

"Right, Rose. Nice to meet you," he said sincerely. He stopped and grabbed hold of her hand. "Now, run for your life!"

They took off running, with Rose giggling in his ear, and he couldn't help sporting the daftest grin.

_"Hallelujah, Hallelujah._  
_Hallelujah, Hallelujah."_

"Would you mind telling me why we're running?" Rose asked breathlessly, her skirt in her hand.

"Because," John said, "I am saving you from my brother."

"What could be so bad about him?" she asked.

"He's too charming for his own good," he informed her. "People tell him if he marries you, he's guaranteed the crown."

Rose snorted. "Why would I let him do that, when I already like his brother?"

John turned red. "You do?"

"Why else would I ask you to dance with me?" she asked like it was obvious.

"Lack of other partners?" John shrugged.

She laughed at him. "There are plenty of other people, but they are all too stuffy, or they are only after me to get the crown."

"Don't worry," John assured. "I don't even want it."

She smiled. "Well, good, then. I would like to see you again sometime. Other than the exhausting atmosphere of a dance."

_"Your faith was strong, but you needed proof._  
_You saw her bathing on the roof._  
_Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you."_

John was fairly certain he was falling in love with Rose. Every time he spent time with her, she did something else that made him lose his reasons why they should not be together. He thought she might love him, too, but he needed something as a sign.

So, when she invited him to the palace gardens, he was surprised to see her in a tub. He covered his eyes, as the gentlemanly thing to do. (Lord knows what else he was thinking)

"I'm sorry, Rose," he apologized. "I did not realize you were indecent. Why are you bathing in the gardens anyway?"

"Well," she started, "I am a princess, and that means I can take my baths where I please, which happens to be in the gardens at night. I like to look at the stars," Rose finished wistfully.

"But why did you call me here?" he asked.

"No one disturbs me when I'm bathing," she said, "and I wanted to talk to you about something, uninterrupted."

"What is it?" he gulped.

"Can you uncover your eyes, please?" Rose asked gently. "You can't see anything, promise."

John hesitantly removed his hand to see she was right. What he wasn't expecting was how much more beautiful the moonlight made her. "What was it?" he choked out, caught off-guard by her appearance.

"Your brother charmed his way into my father's mind at the ball," she said. "He's having dinner with us tomorrow night, and I'm scared over what might happen. From how you talk about him, we might be married by tomorrow."

John frowned. "I hope not."

"Tell me how you feel about me right now," she said. "Say it, in case I never get to hear it again."

"You're scaring me," John said, turning away from her.

"I'm just preparing for the worst," Rose said truthfully.

John turned towards her once more. "I love you," he said quietly. He rushed over to her side and took her hands in his. "I will fight for you, if I have to, Rose Tyler."

She leaned in to kiss him lightly. "I love you, too," she affirmed.

_"She tied you to her kitchen chair,_  
_She broke your throne,_  
_She cut your hair,_  
_And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah."_

The next time John saw her was at a dinner party to celebrate her engagement to his brother. He could not eat a single thing, and when he was questioned by his father for his rudeness, he blamed it on a stomachache. His brother seemed to know. He sent him looks that could only be described as gloating, happy at the fact that he got to tote Rose Tyler around in public.

Every flirting bat of eyelashes, every arm graze, was like a knife in his back. It was like he was tied to his seat and couldn't move. It was like his brother wanted John to admit that he was better for Rose than him.

"My lady," his brother spoke up, and to John's pleasure, she grimaced.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Are you alright? You haven't eaten much tonight." He sent a glare in John's direction.

"I'm fine," she assured, placing a hand quickly over his. "I just feel sick is all. I am going to the restroom."

John counted to sixty before he announced he was going outside for some fresh air.

"Something must be going around," his father assured the table.

He found her slumped over on a balcony railing outside.

"I warned you," he said quietly.

Rose turned to face him and flung her arms around his neck. "John, I don't want to marry him. I don't even love him!"

He stroked her hair comfortingly. "We'll think of something," he assured.

_"Hallelujah, Hallelujah._  
_Hallelujah, Hallelujah."_

Their meetings grew less and less frequent, and more and more of a secret. The wedding plans were in full swing, and John spent his every waking moment feeling like he was drowning when he wasn't around Rose. He poured over every book he could think of to find a solution.

_"Baby, I have been here before._  
_I've seen this room, and I've walked this floor. _  
_I used to live alone before I knew you."_

Rose asked him to meet her in the ballroom where they first met. If anyone asked, he was helping her plan something for his brother for their wedding.

"I have to go through with it," she said to him sadly. "I talked to my father yesterday, and he said your brother was my best option. Besides, who else would I rather marry? He wouldn't even let me discuss you. My mother said you were old enough to be my dad." Rose bit her lip and looked down at the floor. "They're wrong. They do not know about our love."

John walked over to her gently, and lifted her chin until she looked at him. "They are right," he admitted. "Maybe...we shouldn't see each other anymore. It's just getting...hard."

"You can't!" Rose insisted. "I used to feel so alone before we met. I felt like I never belonged here, like I never was meant for anything. But you made me come into my own, you made me better."

John smiled at her. "You did the same for me."

"Dance with me?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I have to go."

_"I've seen your flag on the marble arch,_  
_Love is not a victory march. _  
_It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah."_

John woke up to a_ thud!_ against his window. He rubbed his eyes groggily and stood up to see what it was. He opened his window to see a piece of paper attached to his windowsill. He looked down to see Rose running across his lawn, too far for him to call out to her.

He glanced down at the paper to see it was a letter.

_John,_  
_I cannot marry your brother. Do not ask me to. You of all people should know I would be miserable for all of my days. So, this is my plan. We will run away together. Please say you will._

_I await your response no later than tomorrow night._

_Love, _  
_Rose_

John crumpled the paper in his fist and screwed his eyes shut tight. Could he do this? Could he condemn Rose to a life of nothing once they ran away together. Romeo and Juliet tried that, and look how well that turned out.

But what, he asked himself, was the alternative? Watch his brother marry Rose? Watch them have children and their own balls? Watch them laugh and dance together for the rest of his days? No, that would not do, no matter what he tried to tell Rose. He was a selfish man, he did not share. Rose was his.

_"Hallelujah, Hallelujah._  
_Hallelujah, Hallelujah."_

He climbed out of his window, intent on catching up with her and telling her his response right then.

"Rose!" he called into the night as he ran. "Rose Tyler!"

"What are you doing?" asked a cold, familiar voice John knew all too well. It made him stop dead in his tracks.

His brother stepped out of the trees surrounding their house and glared at him. "Why were you running after Rose at 3 in the morning? And why was she here?"

"I don't know," he lied. "I heard a noise outside and I saw her run across the lawn."

"Liar," his brother accused pushing him against a tree trunk.

John audibly swallowed and clenched his fist.

"You think she loves you? You think you're better for her than me?" he asked.

John started to speak, but his brother cut him off.

"She is mine. Besides, we don't want her to be disgraced when everyone calls her your daughter, do we?" he asked, laughing.

John dropped his head. "I wasn't going after because I loved her, I just thought she was here for you."

His brother dropped his hold on John. "Make sure it stays that way," he threatened and stalked off into the house.

_"There was a time when you let me know_  
_What's really going on below,_  
_But now you never show that to me, do you?"_

"John," Rose hissed. "What's wrong with you? You barely look at me, you won't speak to me, and you never replied to my letter."

"I just can't, Rose," John said truthfully. "It's not safe."

"Your brother threatened you, didn't he?" she asked.

He tensed. "No."

She huffed at him. "That is what happened. Why can't you just tell me!"

He walked away from her before she saw him crumple.

_"And remember when I moved in you,_  
_The holy dove was moving too?_  
_And every breath we drew was Hallelujah."_

Rose took off after him. "John!" she called.

"What?" he hissed. "Go back to your fiancee. He'll wonder where you are."

"To hell with him," she said defiantly. That got no response. "You're telling me you're just giving up? You're going to let me become his? All of me?"

John growled. "I have to, even if I don't want to."

"So, claim me," Rose shrugged.

He shook his head.

"Don't tell me you don't want to. Don't lie to me! I know, because I do, too."

John snapped. He grabbed her by the wrist, eliciting a gasp from her. He led her down the hall until he found a broom closet. Somewhere they wouldn't be disturbed.

"I do," he said simply.

Then they came together, and it was the greatest joy he had ever known.

_"Hallelujah, Hallelujah._  
_Hallelujah, Hallelujah."_

"We have to figure out a way to get you out of here," John said. "Without my family or yours knowing."

"Before my wedding night," Rose said. "I'm staying in a cottage, by myself, in order to reflect on my new life. Your brother won't be there, and neither will my family."

"Won't you have guards or servants?" John asked.

"They'll have gone to sleep," she said, "and as for the guards, you just come around the back. They're too thick to encompass the perimeter."

_"Maybe there's a God above, _  
_But all I've ever learned from love,_  
_Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you."_

With the plan set in motion, John actually found it quite easy to get into her room at the cottage, even with his suitcase.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Of course," Rose beamed.

"Where are we going to go?" he asked.

"Anywhere and everywhere," she said.

"Fantastic!" he exclaimed, taking her hand in his. John lifted her out the window, only to hear her cry out.

"Rose!" he shouted. "Are you alright? Did I hurt you?"

"Yes, Rose," a voice came from outside. "Are you hurt?"

John's blood ran cold as he recognized it. He climbed out after her, seeing there was nothing else to do. He definitely couldn't let her get hurt because of him.

"Well, this is odd," his brother said carefully. "I seem to remember an assurance that Rose was mine. So, what's this? Why are you sneaking away together before our wedding night?"

"Because," John breathed. "She's mine. We love each other."

His brother laughed maniacally and cocked a gun at his head. "That's funny, all I ever learned about love was how to shoot someone who beat you."

"No!" Rose protested.

"Or maybe her?" his brother questioned, pulling her in by her neck, and pointing the gun at her.

"Don't!" John protested. "Me instead."

_"It's not a cry you hear at night,_  
_It's not somebody who's seen the light. _  
_It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah."_

"You see what love gets you, John?" his brother asked. "You could have been great if you would have just embraced your other name."

"I don't need an alias to save others lives," John said. "I can just be me."

"Isn't that sweet, Doctor?" his brother asked and then grimaced. "No, I suppose you're right. Doctor doesn't command power, but me on the other hand, I am the Master! Now let's see if you can save the woman you love!" His brother turned the gun at Rose once more and was about to pull the trigger.

John jumped in front of him and wrestled his brother to the ground. "I told you if you were hurting anyone tonight, it would be me," he said coldly.

"Gladly," his brother gritted out, pointing the gun at John. He pulled the trigger, and a rippling pain ripped through his stomach.

He fell back and his brother fled.

"John!" Rose cried out.

_"Hallelujah, Hallelujah._  
_Hallelujah, Hallelujah."_

"Rose," he smiled stroking her cheek.

"We've got to get you a doctor," she said, standing up quickly and trying to make a run for the guards.

"No." John grabbed her ankle. "There's no time."

"Of course there's time," she said, sitting down next to him. "We have all the time in the world."

"If that's true," John said, "then would you marry me?"

"Sure," Rose said easily. "In Barcelona?"

"No, now," he clarified.

"You're scaring me," she said.

"Just say you will," John whispered.

She nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks.

_"You say I took the name in vain,_  
_I don't even know the name. _  
_But if I did, well, really what's it to you?"_

"We don't even have to say the vows," Rose assured him. "I do."

"I do as well," he said.

"You may now kiss your bride," she said hoarsely, leaning down to press their lips together.

_"There's a blaze of light in every word,_  
_It doesn't matter which you heard_  
_The holy or the broken Hallelujah."_

"Before I go," John said when they broke apart.

"Don't say that!" Rose exclaimed.

"Before I go," he started again, "I just wanted to see that you were fantastic, absolutely fantastic. And do you know what?" he asked.

Rose shook her head.

"So was I," he beamed at her, and gasped his final breath, letting the darkness take him over.

_"Hallelujah, Hallelujah._  
_Hallelujah, Hallelujah."_

Rose broke down into sobs, clutching his body close to hers. She stroked his closely cropped hair in between her fingers, and wished for him to come back.

"Please don't leave me," she pleaded. "I can't love anyone else."

_"I did my best, it wasn't much. _  
_I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch. _  
_I've told the truth, I haven't come to fool you."_

Rose leaned down to kiss his lips again. He didn't kiss her back. It made her angry and she screamed. "Why? Why? Why?"

Suddenly a gentle hand was on her shoulder. "Are you okay, Rose?"

She turned around to see a member of the guard looking at her, concerned. He was as skinny as a stick with brown sticky uppy helmet hair.

"No," she sniffed.

It was then that the guard saw the body. "What happened to him?" he cried out. "We've got to get a doctor straight away, we-"

Rose cut him off. "There's no need. He's already dead. Shot by his own brother."

The guard patted her shoulder. "I am so sorry, princess."

_"And even though it all went wrong, _  
_I'll stand before the Lord of song_  
_With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah."_

"Thank you," she said. "I loved him, I love him, and I will love him."

The guard looked at her strangely. "Are you sure you're okay."

"I'm always okay," she said bitterly. "Now, bring me that raft from the shore, and help me get him on it."

He did as she said, and they lifted John on the raft together. They pushed it to the water's edge.

_"Hallelujah, Hallelujah._  
_Hallelujah, Hallelujah."_

Rose kissed his lips for the last time. "I promise I will never forget you," she whispered in his ear. "I love you."

They pushed the raft into the water, and Rose stood there watching it float into the lake. She stood there until morning, long after the raft had disappeared from sight.

AN: Ugh, I'm sorry. I can't seem to write anything but angst D: I promise the next one will be fluffy!


	2. Chapter 2

AN: This is just a general note to all my fanfictions currently in progress. I'm sorry if you were excited about this being a new chapter xD And I'm also sorry, because I know you're technically not supposed to post an entire chapter with just an author's note, but in this case, it was needed. I just wanted to let you guys know, I haven't died, or abandoned this fanfiction right in the middle of the chapters. I have just had final exams, work, and other obligations tying me down. But now, school is over for three months, and I'll have four days off next week from work. So, during that time, all my fanfictions will be updated if they are still in progress. Thank you for your understanding, and thank all the lovely people who have followed, favorited, and reviewed. It's you that keeps me writing :)


	3. Chapter 3

AN: This is going to be one of the only AU's in this set that's not based off of a song, just because I thought about it, and thought it was good. This is technically Ten, but implied Nine/Rose.

_Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?_

Not the Doctor. In fact, he wants to encounter her. She used to be someone he knew. But that was before. Now, the beast has taken over, upset and progressed by grief. Grief from someone he left her with. Maybe she was coming after him for it. He should have run more tests. For what did he know of love? He was a Time Lord. Marriages were arranged for politics. But with Rose, it had been different- and he let her go. For being the most brilliant being in creation, he could sure be daft.

He should have known that even though his other self took the vortex out of her, that kind of thing leaves permanent effects. This one, disastrous. His Rose was hurt and it was all his fault, just because he allowed himself to forget once he regenerated. Why? His previous self would have done it at once, as soon as he was able. He left her twice now, and he was paying the price for his stupid actions. Maybe he should have called himself the stupid ape.

He loved her once upon a time, in his previous self. Still did, if he had to be honest with himself. But he had to lock those emotions away. What use are emotions if you cannot save the woman you love?

So, he did. He kissed her, and he drew the vortex into himself. He had not done enough. His emotions were useless. All they made him do was make the wrong decisions. But, he could change, for her. He would become more like his previous self, the one he was so sure she had fallen in love with, even though he thought himself too old to be seen with her. He had to save her, and properly this time. He would show that Dalek...he would save the woman he loved. Rose Tyler was going to be his forever, and he was going to show her that he was never going anywhere again.

"Have you seen her?" he asks. "Too beautiful to look at, glowing golden light?" But they all shook their heads.

"Rose, why won't you come back to me?" he cried. But he knew the answer. Because she wasn't Rose. She was the Bad Wolf. And then one day, he found her. Bringing destruction to a lab.

She collapsed into his arms. She felt as light as a feather; he had expected heavy with the weight of all those timelines pressing down on her head. He carried her back to the TARDIS and into the med bay. He laid her on a cot and hooked an iv and heart monitor into her stiff body.

"Nothing's going to harm you, Rose," he whispered into her ear. "Not ever again."


	4. Chapter 4

AN: This AU is inspired by both Blackbird and by the line in Father's Day when the Ninth Doctor says "Street corner, two in the mornin', catchin' a taxi home. I've never had a life like that."

Blackbird- The Beatles

"_Blackbird singing in the dead of night, _

_Take these broken wings and learn to fly."_

**Street corner, 2am, catching a taxi home.**

John Smith had once been an interesting man full of life, but the war had forever changed that.

A shadow of his former self, he spent all his time sleeping and drinking. What did he care if he died? He had already lost everything.

It was a Friday night, at 2am, the corner of Henley and Adams, that his life changed forever once more.

There was a girl there, her eyes had racoon rings from her mascara, her hair messed about from pulling it.

"This is just great!" she exclaimed into the night, and John wondered if she might be mentally disturbed.

The girl threw her purse on the ground and plopped on the sidewalk next to it.

_Don't get involved, _he told himself, careful not to look at her.

A taxi rounded the corner and John flagged it down. He climbed in, but he sighed when he looked out the window to see the girl looking utterly lost.

"Wait," he said to the driver. He opened the window. "Are ya gettin' in?"

The girl shrugged. "No money. I'm a walkin' disaster, and lost it at the bar I was at."

John sighed. "Get in."

"But-"

"Stop bein' stubborn, and get your arse in the cab, before I change my mind," he interrupted.

The girl quickly grabbed her purse and hurried inside. She told the cab driver an address and they drove in silence.

"'M Rose," she spoke up finally.

"John," he said tersely.

She placed a hand on his arm and he tensed.

"Thank you," she said sincerely. "Was twenty blocks from my house."

He shrugged. "Same thing anyone else woulda done."

"They wouldn't," she said, certain.

The cab driver stopped and she fidgeted with her purse strap. "I, uh, get paid next Friday. I could buy ya a drink, ya know, to make up for the ride."

"You don't have to-"

"I know," Rose held her hand up. "But I'm goin' to."

"Fine," John agreed. "On the condition that it's not a date."

Rose blinked in surprise, then burst out laughing, to which he squirmed uncomfortably.

"If I was askin' ya on a date, you'd know it." She climbed out and waved as the cab pulled away.

"_All your life_

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise." _

**Street corner, 8pm, too drunk to care. **

John Smith was so drunk, he didn't even know what day it was. It had been his worst day in a while. He couldn't take his mind of the blood: the red, sticky mass everywhere. Fire, burning, no one. Alone.

"I was goin' to buy ya a drink, but I don't think ya need one."

John slowly turned around to see the girl he shared a cab with, Rose. Her mouth was curled in disdain as she took his appearance in. Well, this was surely it. Now that she caught a glimpse of the real him, she would turn and run faster than anything, he was sure of it.

But to his surprise, the girl in question sat in the stool next to him.

"I do think we should cut ya off though," Rose mused.

"What are ya talkin' 'bout? I'm fine," John slurred.

"Would ya mind tellin' me why you're so drunk already?" she asked, and instead of disgust in her voice, John could swear he could hear concern. Why did this innocent girl care so much about a nobody?

"Drink all the time," he waved her off. "Helps me forget."

"Forget what?" she asked.

His face instantly sobered. "Everything."

…..

The next thing he knew, John was laying somewhere. It was rough on his skin, and his mouth was insanely dry. He looked up to see he was on Rose's lap.

John knew the proper thing would be to sit up straight, and never go near her again. All those carefully constructed emotional barriers were for a reason, but...he couldn't move. Something was holding him there, and he had a feeling it was the thing he was dreading the most.

"Rose, where are we?" he asked, mostly to distract himself from going down _that _road.

"I'm takin' ya to my place."

His mind instantly rebelled, red warning signs flaring up everywhere on his body. What had he done? What did she think was happening? What had he said while so drunk out of his mind?

"But-"

"Can't leave ya by yourself," Rose said firmly. "For one, you've had enough alcohol to drown an elephant, and ya passed out, screaming."

An ice cold dread spread through his body. "Screamin' what?"

Rose shook her head. "Doesn't matter."

It occurred to John Smith that no one had ever cared about him this much, not even his own family.

"_Blackbird singing in the dead of night,_

_Take these sunken eyes and learn to see."_

John woke up screaming. It was so dark, he couldn't see. He was blind. He tore at his eyelids, willing them to open and gain sight.

"John!" a shout came in front of him. A weight was on his legs and he thrashed.

"John, you're okay!" a voice yelled, wrestling his arms and...hugging him?

A hand stroked his hair, the voice humming lightly, and John calmed down, his vision slowly returning.

Rose. Rose was here. He pushed her back from him.

"Ya could have gotten hurt," he said sharply.

"But I didn't," she said, cautiously holding out her arms.

He sank into her body. "I guess I owe ya an explanation. I was in a war. I lost everythin'. Before I was discharged, there was a bombing. I got thrown to the ground, and I was blinded. For three days I laid in the same spot, wonderin' when someone was gonna kill me. Then, my vision returned. The area I was layin' in had turned into a fiery wasteland, it was a wonder I survived. I made it to a hospital, and they treated me as best they could, but my eyes were damaged by the shrapnel. I can't see as well as I did, and I have scars around my eyes."

Rose squinted. "You can barely see them."

John smiled. "Thank you, for everythin'."

"I'm here for ya," she said. "Can't deny we're friends now."

He tried to ignore that his heart twinged when she said that. Of course he couldn't expect her to want someone like him. "Can ya stay?" he asked quietly. "Ya know, in case-"

"Forever," she assured him, crawling into the other side of the bed.

"_All your life,_

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise."_

**Street corner, 4am, waiting for sleep to come.**

"What's your favorite book?" Rose asked him when they couldn't sleep.

He thought. "I don't know. I haven't read in a long time," he admitted.

"What about Harry Potter?" she asked. "Have you ever read any of the Harry Potter books?"

"Harry who?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

Rose audibly gasped. "We're goin' to fix that right now. Sit your arse on the couch, and don't move it until I get to chapter 10, at least. And don't you dare fall asleep."

"No worries," John grumbled. "I don't like to sleep."

Rose's face darkened, then she quickly composed a smile. "Stay, I'll be right back."

She bounced back into the room carrying a book that was sort of thick. _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone _the cover read, with an illustration of a boy flying on a broomstick with a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead.

"Is this a happy story?" he asked.

"Well," Rose frowned, "it's not all happy. There are some scary parts. It is about wizards after all."

"How did he get the scar?" John questioned.

"A dark wizard named Lord Voldemort."

John shrugged. "Alright, you've got me sufficiently interested. Read on." He sat gingerly on the dark blue couch, and got himself comfortable.

"Alright," Rose began, "Chapter one, The Boy Who Lived…"

"_Blackbird, fly. Blackbird, fly_

_Into the light of the dark black night."_

**Street corner, 11am, getting a bite to eat.**

"Ya know," she told him the next morning as they were walking to get breakfast, "ya can talk to me about anythin', yeah? Even the bad stuff."

He nodded before he could form the words. Somehow John already knew he could, because Rose was just that type of person. What he couldn't tell her was he couldn't tell her because it would make her think differently of him. It would ruin any form of relationship they had.

He was content to just be, right now, in this moment, with her. Street corner, 11am, getting a bite to eat.

The diner was nice, the food was good, the company was better. He couldn't help but laugh when Rose made dumb jokes about their waitress secretly being a Death Eater, and then she giggled, covering her mouth.

"Whoops, spoilers for book 7," she said.

He pretended to be mad at her. "Now I don't even wanna finish," he teased.

"You take that back," she breathed.

"Hmmph," John said. "Only if ya eat that tomato."

Rose looked at him exasperatedly. "I hate tomatoes."

"Tough," John said, crossing his arms over his chest, and dropping his fork full of pancakes. "Not one more word of Harry until ya eat that whole slice of tomato, Rose Tyler."

She scrunched her nose and closed her eyes tightly (he couldn't help but think she looked slightly cute when she did that).

"Fine," she finally said, stabbing it with her fork viciously. "But, if I eat it, ya have to watch the movies, too. As a marathon." Rose waved the tomato slice threateningly in John's face.

"Deal," he said. "Just eat that tomato, and I'm yours for the next two weeks to subject whatever Harry Potter themed craziness ya want."

Rose put on a determined face, shoved the entire slice in her mouth and chewed. Her mouth pulled into a grimace, her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel.

"Ready to give up?" John asked, a daft grin on his face.

She shook her head silently, finally gagging down the remains, and quickly washing it down with as much tea as she could manage. After that, she flagged down the waitress for more. "Like three cups worth," she informed her. "This guy," she jerked her thumb in John's direction, "made me down a tomato slice for Harry Potter."

The waitress looked at them strangely, but walked back to the kitchen.

"Told ya," she said to John, "she's a Death Eater."

"_Blackbird, fly. Blackbird fly_

_Into the light of the dark black night." _

**Street corner, 10pm, watching Harry Potter on the couch. **

It occurred to John then, that he had never done anything this incredibly domestic. Not even when he had been married, or had children. Although, that, had been all politics and arranged marriages.

Rose had fallen asleep against his chest sometime around when Harry had gotten caught by Professor McGonagall flying his broomstick. He was now down in the dungeons, trying to get past a set of moving chess, but that wasn't what had John captivated.

He looked down at the sleeping woman on his chest and marveled at the way her hair fell across her face, the glow of the tv light illuminating her features.

He could never, ever tell her how he felt, because he was pretty sure that he had already fallen in love with Rose Tyler, and she would never want him.

"_Blackbird singing in the dead of night,_

_Take these broken wings and learn to fly." _

**Street corner, 11pm, trying to avoid her. **

"You're avoidin' me!" Rose accused behind him, but still John pretended like he hadn't heard her. He pushed through the crowd outside the bar, trying to get lost.

"I said-" she started once more, and to his dismay she sounded closer, "you're avoidin' me," she said, grabbing his shoulder.

He sighed and spun around to face her. "Yeah, so?"

She blinked in surprise, like she hadn't been expecting his answer. "Why?" she asked.

"Because I can't love ya!" he spit at her, spinning on his heel and marching off into the night. _Take that, Rose Tyler, ya wanted an answer, and ya got one. _

But of course, she wouldn't let it go. "Why can't ya?" she asked from behind him again, tugging on his collar this time.

He had to make it hurt, he couldn't let her get close, he had to…

"I love ya," she said so quietly that John thought he had imagined it at first. "I do," she said firmer this time. "So, why can't _you_?"

"I just can't, Rose," he said weakly, turning to walk again and she jerked him by his sleeve again.

"That's fine," Rose told him. "I love enough for the both of us," she said, pulling him by the collar again this time, and crashing her lips to his.

"_All your life,_

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise."_

**Street corner, 10:05pm, she's kissing you.**

Rose was _kissing _him. He didn't know how to react and

Rose's

Lips

Were

On

His.

"_You were only waiting for this moment to arise,_

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise."_

**Street corner, 10:06pm, you kiss her back.**

John pulled Rose into him, reaching his arms around her neck before pulling back.

"It doesn't have to be enough," he tells her. "I love ya, too." And he kisses her once more.

He's terrified to death, sure. He knows the bad dreams will still come, but she can help him fight them. He knows he'll still want alcohol, but she can stop him. He knows he'll want to push her away, but she'll be there to tell him what a daft idiot he is for trying.


End file.
